Shaq-a-Claus brings Christmas cheer in Venice

Former Los Angeles Laker Shaquille O’Neal dropped by the Boys & Girls Club of Venice on Monday, bringing gifts of shoes and toys for hundreds of children from low-income families and footing the bill for a petting zoo and a slide made of real snow. O’Neal, who as a child attended a Boys & Girls Club in New Jersey, has been doing similar events around the country since 1992, said Monique Brandon, the Venice Club’s executive director. “Fifteen million children will wake up on Christmas without a toy. My goal is to chip away at that number and spread cheer,” O’Neal said.